2010 FMCA Aerial Short Course FLY IN

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1 The Newsletter of the Florida Mosquito Control Association Volume 9, Issue Number 6 Nov/Dec FMCA Aerial Short Course FLY IN The 2010 Fly In will be presented January 12 14, 2010 at Lee County MCD Facilities Program to be announced, but suggestions are welcome! For 2010, there is a NEW HOTEL LOCATION: Holiday Inn Fort Myers Town Center 9931 Interstate Commerce Drive, Fort Myers, FL Contact Mark Latham for more information or program suggestions: manateemcd@aol.com ( ) Pilots can contact Pamela Jacobson: pamelafmcpa@aol.com ( ) 1

2 FMCA News Silent Auction Thanks to everyone who donated and/or purchased items to the FMCA Silent Auction in Tampa this year. The auction brought in $2,355.50! Special thanks to Dr. Frank Van Essen, Jessica Fussell and Amanda Horvath for their hard work in putting it all together this year. Looks like Dennis Moore has a challenge for next year. Can he lead the Silent Auction to generate at least $ ? We shall see. Dennis says You betcha! Congratulations to the 2009 FMCA Award Winners! James W. Robinson Memorial Award: Wayne Daniels (right), Pasco County Mosquito Control District; pictured with Director Dennis Moore 2

3 Sherry Yarberry Award: Rene Snow (left), Hernando County Mosquito Control District; pictured with Director Guaynge Hu FMCA Presidential Citation: Stephen Sickerman, Director, South Walton County Mosquito Control District 3

4 FMCA Merit Award: Kim Feagley, Pasco County Mosquito Control District FMCA Merit Award: George Heinlein, Indian River Mosquito Control District 4

5 2009 Florida Mosquito Control Foundation T Wainwright Miller, Jr. Scholarship Winners First Place: University of Florida graduate student Aaron Lloyd (left), pictured with his advisor, Dr. Dan Kline Second Place: University of Florida graduate student Whitney Swan 5

6 The 2009 Florida Mosquito Control White Paper is in print and can be downloaded from or contact Roxanne Connelly for hard copies: News from FMEL The 2010 Advanced Mosquito Identification and Certification Course sponsored by the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory will be offered March 8th to 19th, This 2 week course will provide intensive training to experienced mosquito identifiers. The objective of the course is to improve the students ability to identify mosquito species. Course agenda: The course agenda will not be finalized until early February 2010, but the 2009 course agenda is posted at to provide applicants with the list of topics typically covered. Materials: Students are encouraged to bring a binocular and compound microscope. Microscopes will be provided for students who do not bring their own equipment. Textbooks are included in the course fees and will be provided to each student. To apply for the course: Applicants are required to include a resume to list previous courses/training in identifying mosquitoes and current job responsibilities related to identifying mosquitoes. For more information, visit: 6

7 An Overview of Citrus County Mosquito Control Citrus County is located in northwest central Florida along the Gulf Coast and consists of approximately 583 square miles of land and 189 square miles of water divided into three distinct regions; Western coastal salt marsh, Central ridge/high sandy pine forest and Eastern fresh water marsh/riverine area. The population in 2008 was estimated at 143,000. The Citrus County Mosquito Control District (CCMCD) was established in 1951 by the Florida legislature, initiated operations in 1953 providing mosquito control services for all citizens, municipalities and unincorporated areas within the county s boundaries. Services include surveillance, inspections, larviciding, adulticiding, source reduction, public education, and aquatic weed control. The District divides the county into 52 service zones which are used when assigning field related duties. There are 17 staff positions directly involved with field operations and six positions provide administrative support. All staff are certified by the Florida Department of Agriculture in Public Health Pest Control and can be moved into field operations during severe mosquito outbreaks and/or public health emergencies. Local funding is an annual tax levied upon the public. The fiscal Year millage rate was.2755 and enabled a budget of $3,016, State funding is generated by the Solid Waste Management Trust Fund with up to 11% being earmarked for mosquito control programs. For Fiscal Year CCMCD also received $35, as part of the state aid program for mosquito control. The Sentinel Chicken Program was originally operated by the local county office of the State Department of Health (DOH). In 2009 the District assumed full responsibility for this program raising the chickens, building and placing chicken pens throughout the county and taking potentially infected blood samples from the flocks for testing at the State DOH laboratory in Tampa, Florida. The District currently maintains 10 permanently placed flocks of six chickens each, one mobile flock of six chickens, which is used to increase surveillance efforts during medical alerts, and a rearing pen at District headquarters which typically houses 20 replacement birds for use if any of the sentinel chickens become infected with a mosquito borne pathogen. The 10 flocks of six chickens each are bled on a weekly basis. Within the Surveillance Program, adult mosquito populations are monitored throughout the county using New Jersey Light Traps (NJLTs)and Center for Disease Control Traps (CDCs). Currently there are 18 NJLTs strategically located in areas of the county which represent a variety of habitats ranging from salt marsh to urban sites. These traps are enhanced by the use of a 40 watt light bulb which is a known attractant to many species of mosquito. Trap samples are collected 3 times per week and identified to genus/species. The CDC Traps provide data to the Statewide Mosquito Surveillance System. Information on mosquito population types and densities are compiled and sent to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) weekly to provide a real time picture of mosquito activity. CDC mosquito sampling occurs weekly using at least 6 traps and sometimes more than 10 traps. The Surveillance Program also identifies mosquito larvae samples brought in by District Field Technicians. Larval identification enables the technicians to use the correct product to control the specific problem improving control efforts and minimizing the use of pesticides. The Surveillance Program is also responsible for testing mosquito adulticide efficacy and is accomplished through the use of a bottle bioassay. The assay is performed on adult mosquitoes gathered from a variety of habitats 7

8 around the county which are then exposed to several dosage rates of currently utilized pesticides. Depending on the results of these tests, the District chooses the appropriate products to control the problem and minimize the development of pesticide resistance in the local mosquito population. Environmental factors such as rain, temperature, wind speed and direction, tides, ground water, humidity and barometric pressure are compiled weekly, monthly and yearly by the Surveillance Coordinator to assist in predicting mosquito breeding, densities, movement and changes in the populations. Citrus County covers 773 square miles, almost one third of which is water. The west side is extensive salt marsh, the east side is the Withlacoochee river basin and wet grasslands. Sprinkled throughout the county are cypress swamps. The sheer size of the county s wetlands makes it impossible to larvicide its entirety. Adulticiding is necessary to control populations that have successfully hatched or blown in from surrounding salt marshes or neighboring counties. The district maintains several types of equipment for this purpose. We have just completed replacement of 8 vintage 1960 s ULV foggers with 6 Phoenix Foggers powered by 18 HP Honda motors. The foggers have been mounted on Ford Rangers. The new fog trucks are equipped with laptop computers that show spray routes, areas already sprayed, no spray and call before spraying areas, requests for spray, and gate codes. The increased efficiency results in a reduced cost per acre by preventing double fogging and eliminating delays. The system records all phases of the nightly missions which helps insure compliance with EPA and FDACS standards. Concerned citizens can also request information relating to their addresses. For treatment of remote areas there are 10 ATVs, an amphibious Argo, and a Ranger which are equipped for both larviciding and adulticiding. These are used to control mosquito populations inaccessible by road, or at pinpoint problem areas too small to justify a fog truck. We also have 6 P 1 handheld foggers for treatment of the smallest areas and those totally inaccessible by vehicle. All equipment is calibrated annually or after any changes that potentially effect broadcast rates in accordance with EPA and DACS standards. Citrus County Mosquito Control is using a 1973 Bell 206 BII helicopter acquired in The 206 offers increased payloads, higher speeds, and better mission endurance than the older helicopter that was replaced. The 206 is also turbine powered which resulted in increases in safety and reliability. The aircraft is primarily used to perform three basic missions supporting CCMCD. These primary missions are aerial surveillance, larviciding, and adulticiding. The aircraft and pilot can also be made available to other county agencies for contingencies such as storm or flood relief. The IsolAir dry broadcaster system can carry up to 480 pounds of granulated larvicide, enough to treat pounds per acre. A typical load is 400 pounds of larvicide and about 2 hours of fuel. The 70 foot swath allows the aircraft to treat up to 8.5 acres per minute at 60 mph. Product is delivered as low as is safe, typically 30 to 75 ft above ground level. We have treated over 300 acres in a single day using the aviation support truck and enclosed trailer for reloading and refueling near the target areas. Adulticiding is accomplished, at night, using an IsolAir 130 gallon wet broadcaster fitted with 2 BeecoMist Ultra Low Volume (ULV) atomizers. Night Vision Goggles are employed for increased safety. To retain a safe margin of available aircraft power typically 30 to 40 gallons are carried. This allows an ample fuel load for about 2 hours flight time and allows a power margin for safe agricultural turn maneuvering. A typical 30 gallon load, broadcast at.62 oz/acre, with a 500 ft swath width, can treat almost 6200 acres in about 2 hours. Typical airspeed for spraying is 80 mph and spray altitude is 300 ft and below. The assigned aviation support truck can refuel and reload the aircraft near target areas if further spraying is required. Joel Jacobson, Director 8

9 2010 Proposed Cuts in State Aid for Mosquito Control Round 2 At the October 20, 2009 meeting of the Florida Coordinating Council on Mosquito Control, Mr. Steven Dwinell, Assistant Director of the DACS Division of Agriculture and Environmental Services advised the Council of the Division s proposed budget recommendations for The Division is again recommending draconian cuts in State aid to mosquito control that are essentially the same as those the Division unsuccessfully sought in Mr. Dwinell was asked what had changed since last year that would lead the Division to believe it would be successful in getting such a recommendation passed when it failed in 2009 due to the overwhelming opposition from both Florida mosquito control professionals and State legislators in Tallahassee. Mr. Dwinell stated that nothing had changed, though the Division felt that programs that impact public health might be cut to protect programs involved with public safety. In the words of Yogi Berra, This is like déjà vu all over again. Are we to go over the same ground covered in 2009 on the importance of the Florida State aid to mosquito control? Readers can revisit several Buzzwords articles on the subject in past issues referenced below. Have we learned anything at all from the 2009 experience? Where are we going on this issue? Why do we continue to have this same discussion with the Division and with our legislators in Tallahassee? "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." Yogi Berra The Division s recommendation to reduce the State aid budget to mosquito control makes no sense. The Division s recommendation, reducing State aid by more than 40% and reducing the mosquito research budget by $25,000, fosters the delusion that the current paltry budget has been adequate for protecting Florida from mosquitoes and mosquito borne diseases and that the proposed cuts to this budget will have little impact. This is far from the truth, and a delusion. State funds in support of mosquito control have remained flat for more than 20 years. No increases at all to adjust for inflation. Nothing. How many State programs can make this claim? Each year the State aid mosquito control program has already been cut in what it can deliver due to losses to inflation. At 3% annual inflation the losses to the program in 20 years is at least $1,500,000! Like the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), State support for mosquito control has been whittled away and now huge pieces will be hacked off. For how long should Florida mosquito control be expected to act like the Black Knight? "'Tis but a scratch; I've had worse" "it's just a flesh wound!" Florida Mosquito Control 9

10 The DACS Division of Agriculture and Environmental Services continues to offer up State aid for mosquito control as their sole means for all budget cuts to the Division despite the strenuous opposition of Florida mosquito control professionals and Florida legislators. It appears that in the Division s view, any budget cuts to the Division, large or small, will likely be borne by mosquito control. What will be left of mosquito control? It s just a flesh wound The Black Knight. In these difficult economic times Florida continues to be threatened by mosquito borne diseases like dengue, West Nile, eastern equine encephalitis, and St. Louis encephalitis and can ill afford the health and economic consequences of a vector borne disease outbreak. Cutting the already inadequate State mosquito control budget is patently irresponsible. The threat of a wider dengue outbreak then that recently reported in Key West is real. Chikungunya is a real threat. Rift Valley fever and bioterrorism are all real dangers. Reducing the already paltry State aid is going in the wrong direction and is simply unacceptable. Consider the importance of State aid to mosquito control as it is currently used: the mosquito control research program that provides information to improve mosquito control, aid to districts to support training, communications with other districts, ability to acquire essential materials not supported using local funds, and many more. The paltry State funds in support of the mosquito control research program have remained flat for more than 20 years. Each year the research selection committee does a Herculean job in determining which of the many proposed projects will receive support. This program has provided essential information that has improved Florida s mosquito borne disease surveillance capabilities, improved mosquito control operations, improved vector control effectiveness, efficiency and environmental propriety of adulticiding and larviciding, characterized non target effects, to name just a few. However, the funds for the program have been inadequate resulting in many projects not being supported despite their importance. These include projects to characterize habitats conducive to container mosquitoes like Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus that would have considerably improved control capabilities in Key West during the recent dengue outbreak. Other projects include better surveillance tools, improved mosquito traps to use for surveillance and control, improved methods to reduce non target effects, improved knowledge on mosquito biology for priority pest and vector mosquitoes including vector ability and insecticide resistance. There have been many lost opportunities due to the small amount of funds in the mosquito control research budget. The Division recommendation includes a $25,000 (10%) budget reduction in the research funds. This may seem like a small amount to the Division. It is not in terms of Florida s research needs. It is the difference in being able to support currently unfunded projects. Mosquito control research is not a luxury that can be dispelled with without dire consequences to the well being of Florida. It is troubling that there has not ever been an analogous recommendation by the Division to increase the research program. There are other high priority needs that State aid to mosquito control can support. To name a few: The Federal support of the Florida sentinel surveillance testing program is being reduced jeopardizing Florida s ability to continue this fundamental tool that has served Florida so well in protecting the State against West Nile, St. Louis encephalitis and eastern equine encephalitis viruses. Florida s two State funded mosquito control research laboratories have seen their operational funds eroded to dangerously low levels. Training opportunities like the Dodd Short courses, various workshops, and attendance at the FMCA annual meeting which are essential to maintaining a professional workforce. 10

11 These needs are essential to maintaining State wide Florida mosquito control and therefore these should be considered as appropriate uses for the State aid for mosquito control collected through the waste tire tax. So where are we going? Apparently, 2009 was only Round 1, and unfortunately we are now at the beginning of Round 2. Florida mosquito control professionals concerned about the future of their profession in Florida should continue to take an active role in these discussions with their colleagues throughout the State, through FMCA, through attending and participating in discussions with the Division at meetings of the Florida Coordinating Council on Mosquito Control, with their local legislators, and of course through participation in this year s FMCA Tallahassee Days in March. Florida mosquito control is unfortunately in the unenviable position of again having to expend resources in time, labor, and money to protect this essential program from imprudent draconian cuts. It is our professional responsibility to continue to point out our disagreements with the Division s recommendations to those with responsibility for making the final decisions. This very bad recommendation by the Division continues to resurface year after year and it needs to be buried once and for all. Previous BuzzWords Articles that discuss the State Aid for Mosquito Control budget can be accessed at: Tabachnick, WJ Florida mosquito control research program, BuzzWords Newsletter of the FMCA. 8(2):6 7. Tabachnick, WJ Meeting of Florida vector borne disease scientists, BuzzWords, Newsletter of the FMCA. 8(3): 4 5. Tabachnick, WJ The importance of Florida Mosquito Control Association's Tallahassee days. BuzzWords, Newsletter of the FMCA. 8(4): 7 8 Tabachnick, WJ Florida s state support budget for mosquito control: Tough times may undermine Florida public health. BuzzWords, Newsletter of the FMCA. 8(6): Tabachnick, WJ Florida mosquito control during the Florida budget crisis. BuzzWords, Newsletter of the Florida Mosquito Control Association 9(1): Tabachnick, WJ Cutting Florida s state support for mosquito control. BuzzWords, Newsletter of the Florida Mosquito Control Association 9(2): Walter J. Tabachnick, Ph.D. Director, Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory Professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology University of Florida, IFAS Vero Beach, Florida 11

12 Deadline for submissions to be included in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of BuzzWords is February 1, 2010 Please send change of address or newsletter submissions to: Roxanne Connelly, Editor, th Street SE, Vero Beach, FL or buzzwords@ifas.ufl.edu BuzzWords deadlines for contributing articles and news Jan/Feb February 1 Mar/Apr April 1 May/Jun June 1 Jul/Aug August 1 Sep/Oct October 1 Nov/Dec December 1 12